I recently found a pearl while eating lobster - any feedback greatly appreciated

Hello all, I recently discovered what I now know to be a pearl while eating lobster. From what I can gather, to find this type of pearl is exceptionally rare. The pearl itself is quite small, about 2mm in diameter and appears to refract light in an unusual way. I would be grateful for any feedback as well as an idea of its worth if anyone out there can help me.

Lobsters eat clams, just not whole. They tear food into small pieces with their claws and place it in their mandibles using the tiny tips of their front legs. The actual opening is quite small and they almost never eat sand, rocks or bits of shell.

Pearls from arthropods isn't common, but it's not rare either and is well documented. Most of the known pearls are from the organs, presumably because crustaceans molt their exoskeletons annually and any pearls occuring near the shells would likely be under-developed and sloughed off.

Hard to believe but real lobster pearl rest assured

Interesting place to find the pearl, since lobsters don't create pearls. Perhaps the lobster ate a mollusk that made the pearl? Then the whole thing was cooked (cooking is not good for pearls.)

Thank you for welcoming to the forum and many thanks for your reply to my posting. I can indeed assure you that I found it in a lobster (2 weeks ago in fact!). I wasn't absolutely sure what it was initially but as it looked like a pearl, I googled 'Lobster pearl' and subsequently came across this forum as there was a reference to the term in an older posting. Being highly skeptical myself about the whole thing (there doesn't seem to be hardly any information on the subject), I took my then-unconfirmed pearl to a local specialist who confirmed it was indeed a real pearl and that, although extremely rare, it is possible to find one in a lobster. He also suggested that it would be of commercial value but only in the niche of the niche markets. I know this is a exceptionally rare occurrence so I'd be quite happy to have it analyzed or x-rayed for authentication purposes.

Finding a pearl, especially from an unusual species is a lucky event. Unfortunately, lobsters are steamed or grilled for several minutes to cook. This causes damage, by removing the protein between the calcified layers. This reduces the scientific value as well.

There is not much cause to have this tested by a lab, because most labs do not have baseline data of pearls from crustaceans.

Your advice from a local specialist is correct about niche markets.

It's a great story though, and you've done well to photograph, describe and bring it to our attention.